...Take Three...Take Four...Take Two Hundred?

Christmas portraits proved to be very challenging this year with our rambunctious Callie Mae.  We had an appointment with a local photography studio that I changed three times before finally giving up and canceling it.  The first time was due to Matt's incredibly busy schedule as he worked himself to exhaustion finishing up a project.  Then we all got a stomach bug topped off with a nasty cold.  Finally, when we were healthy enough to go out in public, Callie pulled a stocking holder down on her forehead, had a mystery scratch under her eye and a chapped face from being sick and drooling so much.  I called the studio, assuming touch-ups would not be an issue since everything is digital.  But they said that they did not do touch-ups and so I just canceled the appointment.  Michelle came over one night to help and we just did our best with our camera and in our family room.  I think they turned out pretty good considering!  I then touched-up the photos that went in the Christmas card, but I left some of the ones in this blog post unaltered to document the season of the many boo-boos!

Uh-oh!  Boo-boos on forehead and under her eye.  Her left cheek is all chapped.  Poor baby!

 We have such a loving little girl who gives great hugs and even "eskimo kisses".

 "What's this?"  Her favorite question right now.  

 Testing, testing...yep, camera works!

We can never get the boys to participate in pictures so I just did some digital paintings of them for this year's card.

Thanksgiving 2010

As usual, I am way behind on blogging this time of year.  But we are getting another blizzard here in Virginia Beach and this one may end up being much more accumulation than last year's.  It started on Christmas night too.  I never thought I would see a white Christmas while living here so this winter baby is very happy!  So, since Callie is busy watching her new videos and playing with her new toys, I finally have time to catch up on this blog.  Here is Thanksgiving--a month late!  There are not many pictures to share.  It was a relatively uneventful holiday, but nice.  Callie took her nap while we ate Dreama's delicious dinner so we only have a few pre and post-feast pictures.  Everyone rushed off the next evening either back to the beach or up to Tech to watch the VT/UVA football game. 

Callie, Matt and Grampie visited with Pa on Black Friday while us girls had our annual spa day.  Here is my little tom-boy, enjoying her favorite snack -- Booberries!

Starting a Leaf Pile Tradition

    Callie is old enough this year to appreciate how much fun a pile of leaves can be.  On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we got to enjoy our first family leaf jumping event.  Matt had raked an impressive pile in the backyard and I could barely hold Callie back as we got the cameras ready.  Needless to say, she had a great time and here are some pictures to prove it.

 She did eventually get bored of the leaves and went back to her hideout to play.

The next morning she slept in much longer than normal.  Her leaf pile romp must have really worn her out!

Long and Lean Little Big Girl

Well, there hasn't been much activity to blog about since Halloween.  Callie came down with her second cold that day and stayed sick for another two weeks.  She shared that one with me and so we were both out of commission for a while.  Along with the colds came sleep problems that we still haven't gotten over.  We are now in a phase where she screams for about two hours in the middle of the night.  We aren't sure why she does this.  It could be her two year molars are working their way to the surface but just aren't visible to the doctor.  Or, it could be that something is just waking her up and she wants to get out and play then.  Hopefully, it will be a short phase and our Thanksgiving plans this week will not cause it to get any worse.  At least we will be at Grammie and Grampie's for two nights and I can toss her into their bed and go back to sleep!   We finally went to the doctor today for Callie's 18 month appointment.  The doctor described her as "long and lean" but said it wasn't a bad thing.  She has grown 2-1/2 inches since her 15 month appointment but has only gained about 3/4 of a pound.  She is 33 inches long (75th percentile) and 23 lbs (25th percentile).  I told the doctor about how picky of an eater she is now, but she said it was normal and asked me about what she DOES eat and said that she was actually eating well for her age.  She said that a big part of the drop in weight is from her being totally weened the last four months.  She was very impressed with Callie's language skills and especially her physical abilities.  She was surprised at how much she jumps and said that was more like a 2 year old.  And, as always, she was completely enamored with Callie's smile and willing amusement at all her "Elmo in the Ear" doctor tricks.  Callie doesn't cry until shot time and that definitely puts her in the minority.

The only pictures I have to share are some of Callie "helping" Daddy and Poe get into the attic for Christmas decorations.  I have been busy decorating since last week, trying hard to get it all done before Thanksgiving so that we can come home to a Christmas house.  The other pictures are of Callie showing off her artwork.  She and I paint several times a week together and she is definitely advanced at it for her age.  We hang her paintings in the best spot in the house -- over the sofa.  I love seeing them there.  And speaking of artwork, I have made the decision to pull out of the Artists Gallery after the end of the year.  I am now putting work up for sale on Etsy.  If you want to check that out you can go to my website and see a link at the bottom of my home page.  (www.catinthelapstudio.com)  Click on the words "cainthelapstudio"  to go directly to my etsy store.  Becky is helping me with the venture by writing many of my descriptions for me.  Hopefully I will have everything from the gallery up for sale in January.  Right now it is mostly my children's art.

 Callie can climb the ladder all by herself - no surprise there from this little spider!

 Poe is still her favorite cat to chase and talk to.  Ollie remains her favorite one to ride like a horse and use as a pillow.

 The proud artist!

A Busy Little Tigger (with a very runny nose!)

Well, Halloween definitely has a new importance for me (or I guess I should say it finally is important to me since I have never been a big fan of it before now.)  I still dislike the holiday's unsettling and tacky decor but this Halloween was a lot of fun and I know it will get even better as Callie grows older and is able to help design her own costumes.   This year, we went for the store bought Tigger costume because that is what Callie picked out on a trip to ToysRUs this past August.  She grabbed that costume out of my hands, hugged it and then threw it in the cart!  And she got pretty good wear out of it this year too!  She was able to dress up for her Friday morning Kindermusik class and then again later that day for Trick or Treating at Daddy's office.  While there, she said her first official "thank you" which as very exciting for Matt and me.  And she charmed everyone that we passed with her Tigger growl and bounces.  That night was also exciting for us because we picked out a new fridge and then went up to Michelle's condo to meet up with Grammie and Grampie and have a delicious dinner.  On Saturday,  we all took Callie to ZooBoo at the Norfolk Zoo.  It was our first time visiting this zoo and Callie loved it.  She was much more aware of the animals this time than she was on her trip to the NOLA zoo last November.   Unfortunately, it became apparent on Saturday that Callie was sick AGAIN after having just recovered from a nasty cold that she had most of October.  But a runny nose didn't stop her and she smiled and bounced and did her animal impersonations all over the zoo.  The holiday weekend culminated with Callie handing out candy and germs to kids on Halloween night.  She had been very messy and congested all day so we were glad she had something to entertain her.  She dressed as a silly ballerina for this event, mostly because I didn't want her to get too hot in her Tigger costume.  She enjoyed putting the candy in kid's bags herself and usually coughed a few times in every kid's face as she did it.  Eventually she realized that the candy she was passing out was not being given back to her and she got a little fussy after that.  But she and Poe hung out by the door all evening waiting to see who would arrive next.  I guess next year we will be hitting the streets for her first neighborhood trick or treating experience.  I can't wait to see what kind of costume she is going to choose next year.  I can't tell if she is going to go the princess route or not.  This year, though, she was definitely the only girl in a Tigger costume!

 Tiggers also love Kindermusik class!

 Callie has recently discovered strawberry Eggos!

  I don't think that is what she is watching in this photo, but this year was Callie's first time actually watching "Great Pumpkin" with Daddy.  Last year she wasn't too interested.

 I just threw this picture in.  Chester has been especially clingy lately and will let me rock him to sleep like a baby!

This Daddy's girl spent some time looking through bride mags at Aunt Missy's on Friday night!  Daddy is in for it already!

 Grampie bought a new hand truck to use to move our old fridge into the garage.  But he and Callie found better things to do with it!

 Callie enjoyed time outside with Grammie before heading to the zoo.

 A very eager little Tigger happy to be out of the car after enduring horrible ZooBoo traffic.

 Waving to the zoo train as it went by.

 This zoo has a great set-up.  You are able to get really close to the animals.

 Bouncing through the zoo!

 Callie drew her normal amount of attention with her irresistible smile.

 Is that a giant Tigger over there???

 Speaking of lazy cats...

 Looking for Trick or Treaters!

 Sharing smiles, Smarties and snot.

 Boo for a second yucky cold this month but yay for a fun Halloween weekend despite it!